Commercial drones are fast becoming a favorite gadget of armed non-state actors and terrorist groups, which are increasingly using them in combat operations against state militaries in some of the world's fiercest war zones, according to a new report from the independent weapons research group Armament Research Services (ARES) and PAX, a Dutch non-governmental peace organization, published Thursday.

The increasing use of the small drones by non-state armed groups also "enhances their combat capabilities and may be a contributing factor which can prolong or escalate armed conflicts, and further threaten the lives of civilians," reads the ARES/PAX report.

And with the civilian market for drones exploding, they're relatively easy for just about anyone to get a hold of.

A booming commercial market

People crowd to view a new UAV model at Aviation Expo China 2015 at China's National Convention Center in Beijing, September 16, 2015. Most of the commercial drones used by non-state armed groups are those manufactured in China.

Image: ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

Commercial drones are increasingly becoming cheaper, smaller, stealthier and better able to fly undetected. The ability of one drone last year to go unnoticed was so good, in fact, that it was able to sneak past the Secret Service and land on the lawn of the White House.

Tech-savvy consumers can't get enough of them, as evidenced by a major spike in drone sales last year. Sales of drones are expected to top 16 million by 2020.

But that booming civilian market for drones has also made it easier for groups like the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and pro-Russian separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine to get their hands on them and replicate the successful use of them by states' armed forces, Jenzen-Jones said.

In fact, the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 sanctioned companies in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and China for allegedly acquiring materials needed to build drones for Hezbollah, The Wall Street Journal reported.

With that threat in mind, PAX's Wim Zwijnenburg said countries should take measures to make it more difficult for groups like those to obtain drones.

"States and producers should look at options to curtail the export of this critical technology to unwanted end-users," he wrote in the ARES/PAX report.

Drones on the battlefield

A Ukrainian soldier shows of a new defense ministry done to journalists at a military base in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, on January 23, 2015. Ukraine's volunteer battalions were the first to use drones in the war.

Image: Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Jenzen-Jones said fighters in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere are using the small, stealthy drones to spot enemy positions, allowing weapons operators to more accurately fire artillery, mortars and missiles at their targets on the battlefield.

In some cases, the drones are "modified for direct offensive use in delivering improvised explosive devices (IEDs)," he added.

In other words, more and more, these groups are coming up with ways to "weaponize" them, often by attaching explosives to their undersides.

In Ukraine, pro-Kiev volunteer battalions and pro-Russian separatist fighters have used small commercial drones in equal measure. In fact, both have crowdfunded to buy small eight-rotor drones used to fly over the the battlefields and send back live video of their enemies' artillery positions.

The Ukrainian military eventually purchased commercial drones and developed another model of its own for use on the battlefields. It also, eventually, incorporated the volunteer, drone-flying reconnaissance group Aerorozvidka into its ranks.

This Aerorozvidka shows a drone spotting for Ukrainian artillery.

Backed by the Russian military, the separatists in eastern Ukraine have had the benefit of using more sophisticated Russian drones.

Olga "Corsa" Sergeevna, commander of a separatist artillery unit, eyes a drone flying above her artillery position on February 13, 2015 in Debaltseve, eastern Ukraine.

Image: Pierre Crom/Getty Images

But the scrappier militias doing much of the grunt work on the front lines have mostly used the smaller drones to aid them in their fight, a fighter in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic told Mashable on the condition of anonymity because he is not supposed to discuss military tactics with journalists.

The ARES/PAX report cites one incident in which separatist forces tried weaponizing their drone by strapping a hand grenades to it. Ukrainian soldiers reported a grenade was dropped on their position by a drone piloted by separatist fighters. But it was a dud and failed to explode.

Terror uses

Perhaps the biggest fear is that commercial drones will be used to carry out attacks on civilians.

The report notes security analysts' fears that commercial drones could be used to carry out a 'bird strike' type attack, in which a drone is flown deliberately into the engine of a plane in an attempt to bring it down.

Efforts to weaponize them means they could also be used to carry and drop hazardous chemicals or explosive devices into crowds at public events to devastating effect, the ARES/PAX report warns.

Besides the weaponization of commercial drones, Jenzen-Jones predicts we'll see an increase in "further creative and novel tactical employments of these systems" by armed non-state groups and terrorist organizations in the years to come.

The question is: What will those "creative" uses be?

The sky's the limit.

BONUS: Rogue drones may have finally met their match: Eagles

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